Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Novell’s claim to Linux copyright in jeopardy - The Boston Globe

Not just Novell’s – an excerpt:

IBM had bought SCO’s Unix software, but in 2003 SCO sued IBM saying it misappropriated SCO’s software by adding key portions of it to the free Linux operating system. SCO said IBM’s actions gave Linux many of the same advanced capabilities as SCO Unix, thus reducing SCO’s software sales.

But after the ruling in the Novell case, SCO lost its claim to ownership of Unix, and no longer had grounds to sue IBM. Shortly after the ruling, SCO filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

Now, the Appeals Court ruling has revived the IBM lawsuit, according to SCO chief executive Darl McBride. “It was two grueling, grinding years,’’ said McBride. “A lot of people predicted we would never make it to this point.’’